You have been identified as a borrower who was erroneously not offered a trial loan modification by Wells Fargo and whose home was not foreclosed on by Wells Fargo.

The Court has approved and authorized the sending of a notice to you because you have a right to know about the proposed settlement of a class action lawsuit, and about your options, before the Court decided to approve the settlement. The Court has approved the settlement; however, it isn’t until after objections and any appeals are resolved that an administrator appointed by the Court will make the payments that the settlement allows. You will be informed of the progress on this website.

The notice explains the lawsuit, the settlement, your legal rights, what benefits are available, who is eligible for them, and how to get them.

The Court in charge of the case is the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, and the case is known as Ryder et al. v. Wells Fargo Bank, Case No. 1:19-cv-638. The people who sued are called Plaintiffs, and the company they sued, Wells Fargo, is called the Defendant. U.S. District Judge Timothy Black is in charge of this class action.

The lawsuit alleges that between 2010 and 2018, Wells Fargo miscalculated attorneys’ fees that were used to help determine whether a borrower qualified for a trial mortgage loan modification under the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). Specifically, fees that should have been compared for purposes of the relevant calculation were instead added, resulting in the erroneous refusal to offer a trial loan modification or repayment plan. Over 1,800 borrowers were impacted by this calculation error but did not lose their homes to foreclosure by Wells Fargo.

Wells Fargo publicly acknowledged the calculation error and sent letters and checks to affected borrowers. Plaintiffs filed this lawsuit to seek what they claim is full compensation for themselves and similarly situated borrowers. This settlement makes relief available to over 1,800 impacted borrowers.

Although it has publicly acknowledged the calculation error, Wells Fargo otherwise denies Plaintiffs’ allegations. Wells Fargo denies that it breached a contract or that the erroneous calculations of trial payment plans caused any related damages.

In a class action, one or more people called Class Representatives (in this case, Ethan Ryder, Jose Aguilar, John Chambers, Kimberly Duncan, Elizabeth Manley, Maureen Mann, and Viola Thomas) sue on behalf of people who have similar claims. All these people are Class Members. One court resolves the issues for all Class Members, except for those who exclude themselves from the Class.

The Court did not decide in favor of Plaintiffs or Wells Fargo. Instead, both sides have agreed to the Settlement. That way, Class Members can receive certain and substantial payments and both sides avoid the multi-year delay, risk, and cost of a trial and appeal. The Class Representatives and the attorneys strongly believe the settlement is best for all Class Members given the risks of the case.

You are a member of the Class if the calculation error caused Wells Fargo not to offer you a trial loan modification (even though you qualified for one) but Wells Fargo did not foreclose upon your home. You likely received a letter from Wells Fargo in 2019 or 2021 regarding the error, and the Parties believe based on Wells Fargo’s records that you are likely a class member.

The Court’s description of the Class is as follows:

All persons in the United States who between 2010 and 2018 (i) qualified for a home loan modification or repayment plan pursuant to the requirements of government-sponsored enterprises (such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac), the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP); (ii) were not offered a home loan modification or repayment plan by Wells Fargo because of excessive attorneys’ fees being included in the loan modification decisioning process; and (iii) whose home Wells Fargo did not sell in foreclosure.

If you received a letter from Wells Fargo stating that you were erroneously not offered a trial loan modification due to a calculation error, that alone does not make you a Class Member. You are a Class Member only if your home was not foreclosed upon by Wells Fargo. You are also not a member of the class if (a) Wells Fargo sent you a letter but later determined that you in fact did not qualify for a trial loan modification or (b) you signed a settlement with Wells Fargo releasing the claims at issue in this case.

If you are still not sure whether you are included, you can ask for free help. You can call 1-844-929-4695 or review this website for more information.

Wells Fargo has agreed to pay $12 million. After attorney’s fees, costs, service awards, and settlement administration expenses are deducted, an estimated $9,098,907 will be distributed to Class Members. These funds will be distributed as described in FAQ 9 and FAQ 10.

Checks were mailed to eligible class members on March 15, 2022.

If you do nothing, you will receive a check for at least the amount listed under Section 9 of the Notice you received. This is in addition to the payment Wells Fargo previously sent you. Your share of the settlement fund is based on whether you are still in your home and if you were later offered a trial loan modification after the calculation error. For a detailed explanation of the steps taken to calculate your settlement share, please go to the Important Documents page and review the Allocation Plan document.

Checks were mailed to eligible class members on March 15, 2022.

You do not need to do anything. Your settlement payment will be mailed to you automatically, after any appeals are resolved, unless you excluded yourself from the settlement. If your address changes, please let the Settlement Administrator know your new address.

Checks were mailed to eligible class members on March 15, 2022.

The benefit distribution date was March 15, 2022, checks have already been mailed to eligible class members. The Court held a hearing on January 25, 2022, and decided to approve the settlement. However, there may still be appeals and resolving them can take time, perhaps more than a year. You can check on the progress of the settlement on this website. Please be patient.

Unless you exclude yourself, you remain in the Class, which means you can’t sue, continue to sue, or be part of any other lawsuit against Wells Fargo about the legal issues in this case. It also means that the Court’s orders will apply to you and legally bind you. If you do not exclude yourself, you agree to the “Release” in Section X of the Settlement Agreement, available on the Important Documents page, which describes exactly the legal claims that you give up if you get settlement benefits.

The deadline to exclude yourself from the settlement was November 29, 2021 and has passed.

The deadline to exclude yourself from the settlement was November 29, 2021 and has passed. Unless you excluded yourself before November 29, 2021, you gave up any right to sue Wells Fargo for the claims that this settlement resolves. If you have a pending lawsuit, speak to your lawyer in that case immediately. You must have excluded yourself from this Class to continue your own lawsuit.   

Class Counsel in this case are DannLaw (www.dannlaw.com) in Cleveland, OH, Gibbs Law Group LLP (www.classlawgroup.com) in Oakland, CA, Keller Rohrback LLP (www.kellerrohrback.com) in Seattle, WA, Markovits, Stock & DeMarco, LLC (www.msdlegal.com) in Cincinnati, OH, and Paul LLP (www.paulllp.com) in Kansas City, MO. You will not be charged for these lawyers.

If you want to be represented by your own lawyer, you may hire one at your own expense.

Class Counsel asked the Court to approve payment of $2,719,093 for attorneys’ fees, reimbursement of $43,726.97 in litigation expenses they incurred throughout this case, and payments of $17,000 to the Class Representatives. The attorney’s fees would pay Class Counsel for investigating the facts, litigating the case, and negotiating the settlement. The Court has awarded these amounts. There will also be costs of $100,000 to administer the settlement. These amounts will be paid by Wells Fargo separate from, and in addition to, the approximately $9,098,907 available for Class Members and in providing the approximate amount of your settlement payment.

The deadline to object to the settlement was November 29, 2021 and has passed. 

Objecting is simply telling the Court that you don’t like something about the settlement. You can object only if you stay in the Class. Excluding yourself is telling the Court that you don’t want to be part of the Class. If you exclude yourself, you have no basis to object because the case no longer affects you.

The Court held a Fairness Hearing on January 25, 2022 and released an order approving the settlement, which can be viewed on the Important Documents page of this case website. The purpose of the hearing was for the Court to determine whether to approve the Settlement as fair, reasonable, adequate, and in the best interests of the Class; to consider the Class Counsel’s request for attorneys’ fees and expenses; and to consider the request for a service award to the Class Representative. At the hearing, the Court was available to hear any objections and arguments concerning the fairness of the Settlement.

If you do nothing, you’ll receive a settlement payment automatically, as the Court has approved the settlement (pending any appeals). But, unless you excluded yourself, you won’t be able to start a lawsuit, continue with a lawsuit, or be part of any other lawsuit against Wells Fargo about the legal issues in this case, ever again.